How come the USA military is having such a tough time?

Question

This so called war in Iraq was supposed to be easy. Why can't the USA military beat a bunch of rag tag men with basic weapons? Could it be the USA bit off more than it can chew? The USA military is eating crow. How come the war supporters aren't embarrassed about having their butts handed to them each and everyday?

Answer 1

One, it is spread too thin.

Two, we are not very good at combating partisans, the only exception being the Philippine Insurrection about 100 years ago.

Three, micromanagement by Donald Rumsfeld and his cronies. He should be hanged as a war criminal anyway. The lack of intelligent planning coming out of the Defense Department is obvious to all but conservatives. Also, not all the troop reductions are to be blamed on Clinton. FIrst, the Republican-controlled Congress had to go along with them. Second, Rumsfeld has also been reducing troop strength and has not provided proper equipment.

I opposed the war from the very beginning because it was unnecessary, has nothing to do with terrorism (the Army War College made this exact assessment), and because Bush clearly wanted to go to war regardless of circumstances, truth or reason.

Despite all of this, all of the bad planning, and the insufficient allocation of troops to the invasion in the first place, our fighting men and women have done a magnificent job in trying to bring freedom to Iraq. Now it is time to wind it down and get them home (even that incompetent Bush has said as much)

May God bless America by destroying terrorists and all other conservatives.

Answer 2

Your statement about a rough time is relative, Custer had a rough time at Little Bighorn, Washington had a rough time almost the whole RW, Lee had a rough time at Gettysburg, etc...
What is not mentioned is that this is not really a war in the traditional sense. There is no other country mentioned as a foe for one. This is an occupation following an invasion. Read your histories on this particular type of conflict. The most recent example would be the USSR and Afghanistan. After their invasion they propped up a puppet government and occupied the country to protect their puppet. Their combat losses were minimal but steady as they were fighting against an insurgency. Their strength lay in their ability to wage traditional warfare and they were not prepared for the fluidity of modern guerrilla warfare. The only way to win this type of conflict is to engage your forces in scorched earth and genocide.
As a modern military force the US is without peer (it better be for the amount of treasure invested in it.) No conventional army in the world would stand a chance against it on a battlefield. However, the tactics used by this army to fight an insurgency are in direct contradiction to reason. Collateral damage and renegade troops alone increase the numbers of Iraqi insurgents. The presence of the army itself increases the numbers of Islamic terrorists.
Also, this is not a country in civil war. A civil war implies a legitimate govt defending itself against an internal threat. Vietnam was a civil war. Iraq is an occupation of a land with four distinct groups, three of which oppose the occupation (Sunni, Shiite and external Islamic terrorists both Sunni and Shiite.) The fourth group, the Kurds are protected by their geographical placement and concentrated population. I believe they are patiently awaiting the outcome of this clusterf***.
There can be no embarassment where there is no responsibility or regret. The US government cannot admit error nor can it develop a strategy other than "stay the course." Also, it will be impossible to end a war on "terror" while the causes of terror are ignored and indiscriminate killing is the norm.

Sparticus was a terrorist.

Answer 3

Conventional forces have always had a difficult time with guerrilla operatives. Our troops are also "hampered" by Western morality, which does not allow them to fight with the same disregard for non-combatants. (remember, the "criminal atrocities" that several US servicemen are charged with committing is the OFFICIAL POLICY the other side.) If the sides were reversed, the Islamic militants would have no problem weeding out insurgents if they were in the US in force. They would literally just kill everyone and anyone who had the appearance of, or was suspected of the slightest opposition to them.
I get occasional emails and video from Iraq, and the first hand information is in direct opposition with what is tendered in the main stream media. Also, who said that the war would be an easy one.

Answer 4

You were never in the US Military. You wouldnt ask questions like these. I totally agree with Zepellen. And if you ever get a backbone I CAN BE FOUND IN LOS ANGELES , CA when im not overseas "beating a bunch of rag tag men with basic weapons."

Answer 5

That has to be one of the rudest things that I have ever read in my life. Our soldiers are over there going through hell doing a job that is probably harder than any job that you will ever have to endure. Let me ask you something.........did you fight for your country today or just sit on the couch and watch jerry springer while someone else did it for you? Thank goodness that not all humans have the same mentaltility as you otherwise we would'nt be a free country right now and let me just say as much as I love my counrty that comments like yours almost make me wonder why we are. To all the troops , ignorance can not be helped , it's genetics so just know that there are sane people back here in the states that are very proud of all of you.

Answer 6

Huh didn't know you were over there fighting. Things must have changed from when I was over there. Believe it or not we are winning and as for us getting our butts handed to us, we aren't. There are a few groups who want to seize controll of the Iraq and are fighting tooth and nail to do so. With the help of U.S allies and the newly formed Iraqi military and police forces we are pushing them back. Once again its those that haven't served or are arm chair generals that say we are losing.

Answer 7

The United States people are expecting the Servicemembers to fight a geographical war, when in fact this is a religious war, with the enemy having no geo political boundaries. This is a war we win by killing them, and they win by killing themselves. See now the difficulty we face. We are not having our butts handed to us, we are winning by turning the people of the reason into a Democratic state, thus turning it into a geo-political war, allowing the enemy to lose its position, by taking away its power base.

The military also is understrengthened to fight these wars. You can cut a forest down in a month, but it takes decades to rebuild.

Can You Name This Country?
709,000 REGULAR (ACTIVE DUTY) PERSONNEL.
293,000 RESERVE TROOPS.
EIGHT STANDING ARMY DIVISIONS.
20 AIR FORCE AND NAVY AIR WINGS WITH 2,000 COMBAT AIRCRAFT.
232 STRATEGIC BOMBERS.
19 STRATEGIC BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINES WITH 3,114 NUCLEAR WARHEADS ON 232 MISSILES.
500 ICBMs WITH 1,950 WARHEADS.
FOUR AIRCRAFT CARRIERS AND 121 SURFACE COMBAT SHIPS AND SUBMARINES PLUS ALL THE SUPPORT BASES, SHIPYARDS, AND LOGISTICAL ASSETS NEEDED TO SUSTAIN SUCH A NAVAL FORCE.
IS THIS COUNTRY:
RUSSIA? NO
CHINA? NO
GREAT BRITAIN? NO
FRANCE? WRONG AGAIN
MUST BE USA? STILL WRONG
GIVE UP?
THESE ARE THE AMERICAN MILITARY FORCES THAT WERE ELIMINATED DURING THE ADMINISTRATION OF BILL CLINTON AND AL GORE.

We must now rebuild. Are you ready to step up and help?

Answer 8

You are clearly a clueless idiot.

You must believe that anything on CNN is the word of God.

If you knew the facts, you wouldn't spread such lies and filth like the piece of **** that you are.

The terrorists only success is in butchering women and children. I hope you are proud of that. They are not soldiers, they are pigs and goats.

Answer 9

I see your profile info says your ex-military.........

But from reading your previous Posts, I would guess that you're either one of those Terrorists that post on these sites to incite hatred...........

Or you support Terrorists............

Either way you're a P U S S Y.........

I come from a Military Family and I'll back up what I say........

I can sometimes be found in Thirsty's in Binghamton,NY if you ever get a backbone.......

Answer 10

Because we are not trying to conquer a country but to surgically remove a small part of the population..it is like trying to remove pieces of egg shell from an egg you just cracked, it takes time to get each piece out.